Page 47 - FAO Aquaculture News, May 2021 - No. 63

activities related to education and training
on climate change and activities for adding
value to fishery products had greater
participation of women, while in Caleta
Tongoy women took part in small-scale
aquaculture for Japanese oyster farming,
Aquaculture Updates by Region
and today these women are forming
©FAO/M. Novoa (photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic) Coliumo, work has been led by a women’s
a cooperative for the production and
marketing of oyster products. In Caleta
seaweed union; and in Caleta El Manzano-
Hualaihué, work was carried out to add
value to fishery products led by a group of
women shellfish and seaweed collectors.

collectors, partners or wives of fishers also
Women in Caleta Tongoy in their first Japanese oyster seeding. Women fishers, shellfish and seaweed
participated in tourism activities in the
four pilot coves of the project, including:
involved. The gender gaps included women’s poor ancestral traditions, seafood stalls, gastronomy, recreational
recognition, limited participation and decision-making fishing, and others. One example is the “Marine Tourist
in the local fisheries and aquaculture organizations, Route of Caleta El Manzano-Hualaihué”.
and their difficulties to access relevant information and
capacity building activities related to their work. In fact, In terms of women´s empowerment, the project contributed
the representatives of the pilot coves who participated in to strengthening their cooperation and socio-economical
the first workshop in Valparaíso and created the logical capacities by improving their local organizations, such
framework for the project reported little or no participation as the cooperative of women oyster producers of Caleta
of women in some pilot coves, especially in Caleta Riquelme. Tongoy.
Although some women are in leadership positions in the
organizations of the pilot coves, usually their contributions The key results of the project, from a gender perspective,
are not recognized or are considered secondary. are the better understanding of women’s role within
the fisheries and aquaculture value chains, as well as
The project design did not consider a gender mainstreaming the need to develop interventions that consider their
strategy, however, the better understanding of women’s particular needs, resources, capacities and knowledge.
role within the fisheries value chain demanded planning The adaptation practices developed by the project had the
actions aimed to strengthen their economic and social active participation of women in training and experiences
empowerment, recognizing their needs, but also their in the field, in such a way that the women who participated
relevant capabilities. in the workshops have been able to train other women

As part of the gender strategy, the project
promoted the generation of collaborative
workspaces open to the inclusion of views,
opinions and experiences of both women
and men, directly and together with other
local actors from the community. These
actions, carried out with the support of
consultants and zonal technicians, made it
possible to strengthen the role of women
in the different activities at the local level.
In this way, in the implementation of the
project, working groups were formed to
participate in activities related to adding
value to fishery products post-capture ©FAO/M. Novoa (photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic)
and to encourage the creation of working
networks and cooperatives in which the
majority of the members were women.

A series of activities to strengthen adaptive
capacity to climate change were carried Women fishers in Caleta Coliumo “culture” seaweed as a possibility of adaptation
out in the pilot coves. In Caleta Riquelme, to climate change.

46 FAO AQUACULTURE NEWS – Nº. 63 ■ MAY 2021